EAGER: Exploring Magnetic Communications for Challenging Environments

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Magnetic Induction (MI) refers to the phenomenon where a current passed through a transmitter coil induces a current in a receiver coil that is separated by a short distance from the transmitter coil and is tuned to the same resonance frequency. MI can also be used to carry information by modulating the current. Unlike radio frequency (RF) communication, MI-based communication can provide several benefits such as low energy use, ability to work reliably in a variety of difficult propagation media (e.g., fresh/sea water, non-ferromagnetic metals, underground, etc.), and low leakage possibility because of fast decay of the signal with distance. Furthermore, since the MI technology is useful for efficient power transfer as well, it provides the possibility of passive tagging as well. MI technology is currently not well explored, and there are no commercial circuit boards that can be flexibly configured for experimentation. The primary purpose of this project is to develop relatively inexpensive MI-based transceiver boards and use them to explore the use of MI technology in several emerging applications, particularly those in the emerging smart infrastructure context.The project will develop circuit boards for MI-based communications to support experimental research into this technology. The boards will provide flexible control of the operational frequency, coil size, and operating voltage. The project will experimentally explore the range, power consumption, robustness of the MI communications through a variety of media to enhance the understanding of the merits and limitations of the technology. It will also explore the Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output (MIMO) capabilities in this setup for increasing data rates, and techniques to increase the range. By building several MI communications boards, the project will explore their use in several applications including on-line monitoring and tracking of fresh food supply chain, automated identification of MI tagged items in the smart shopping context and online monitoring of soil in the smart agriculture context. Each of these applications has a unique set of characteristics and requirements and thus can provide a comprehensive experimental evaluation of MI-based communications. The project will also enable other researchers to use our design and boards to further explore the MI technology for a variety of other smart infrastructure applications of societal importance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.